ORONO

Credit union raises $8,100 for campus food pantries

The monthlong effort by University Credit Union to promote awareness of food insecurity among college students has raised more than $8,100 for the five University of Maine System-based campus food pantries.

College students across the country are struggling with hunger and its negative impact on academic achievement, including in Maine, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture ranked first in New England for household food insecurity and seventh in the nation overall.

In December, the credit union launched a statewide campaign to encourage discussion of student hunger and to gather donations for campus-based food pantries. The campaign ultimately exceeded its fundraising goal by more than $600.

AUGUSTA

Maine DOT plan includes 2,262 projects statewide

State Sen. David Woodsome, R-York, recently announced the Maine Department of Transportation Work Plan’s local transportation projects through 2020. The work encompasses 2,262 projects across the state.

The Work Plan includes more than $1.4 billion in highway, bridge and multimodal capital work; more than $1.1 billion in highway and bridge projects; and more than $296 million in multimodal capital projects.

Among the projects are safety and infrastructure improvements at Sanford Seacoast Regional Airport, highway construction and improvements along Route 109 in Sanford, culvert replacement on West Road in Waterboro, and paving and drainage maintenance on Elm Street in Parsonsfield.

The full work plan, including an interactive plan that is searchable by municipality, can be accessed on the Department of Transportation website at www.maine.gov/mdot.

WELLS

Student excels at bee, eyes $50,000 scholarship

Wells Junior High School sixth-grader Matthew Gahagan won the school level of the National Geographic Bee on Jan. 26, with fellow sixth-grader Brian Fetzner as the runner-up in a field of 10 contestants from grades 4 through 8. Also competing were Zack Carpenter, Ryan Chase, Jonah Curley, Nick Days, Olivia Noury, Nick Olsen, David Patnaude and Eli Potter.

Participants each received a Toblerone chocolate bar and a certificate. Gahagan and Fetzner received a puzzle and an atlas. Gahagan also received a National Geographic medal and a beach ball globe.

Gahagan must now pass a written test to see whether he qualifies to represent Wells Junior High School at the State National Geographic Bee, to be held on April 6 at the University of Maine at Farmington. Winners of that competition qualify for the 30th National Geographic Bee on May 20-23 in Washington, D.C. The top prize is a $50,000 scholarship.

SCARBOROUGH

School worker honored for role in food program

The Scarborough Kiwanis Club recently presented Peter Esposito, director of food services for Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough schools, with its Hero of the Quarter award.

Esposito has been a key supporter of the Scarborough school district’s Vacation Food Backpack Program for many years. Before every long weekend and school vacation, his staff sends low-income students home with boxes of fresh food and nonperishable items.

For more information about the Scarborough Kiwanis Club, contact President Troy Hendrickson at thendrickson@gorhamsavingsbank.com or club secretary Joyce Leary Clark at joyce@southernmainelaw.com.

AUGUSTA

Panel submits fire station for National Register spot

The Maine Historic Preservation Commission has entered the Hartford Fire Station in Augusta for a spot on the National Register of Historic Places, indicating that the property has been documented, evaluated and is worthy of preservation as part of the nation’s cultural heritage.

Augusta’s central fire station was a leader in the development of motorized fire-fighting vehicles. The station built in 1920 incorporated modern techniques, up-to-date conveniences and 20th-century technologies such as a new fire alarm system. The building was designed by the noted Augusta architectural firm Bunker and Savage, and it remains in service to this day.

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